Display sign comprised of foldable cardboard members



Oct. 7, 1969 A. H. MEYER DISPLAY SIGN COMPRISED OF FOLDABLE CARDBOARD MEMBERS Filed May 1, 1967 .2 SheetsSheet 1 INVEN'I'UR ALVIN H MEYER MWJ A/IEWT A. H. MEYER Oct. 7, 1969 DISPLAY SIGN COMPRISED OF FOLDABLE CARDBOARD MEMBERS Filed May 1. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1. V VENTUR ALVl/V H. MEYER E Y v AEENT United States Patent US. Cl. 40-445 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cardboard display assembly having collapsible structural members that are scored and cut-out so that the display elements namely a supporting post, a flat area sign and two spaced bracing elements to form a base may be shipped in a flat relationship and may be reformed by folding to form a flat sign with two spaced right angular bracing ledges having a quadrangular opening in each ledge in aligned relation and a post folded to form a quadrangular form that will pass thru the openings in said sign ledges and said two spaced bracing elements fitted in crossed relationship to form a base and providing upward extending tongue and lip that fit within the quadrangular post to support the post in an upright position.

This invention relates to a cardboard display assembly having collapsible structural members.

It is an object of the invention to provide cardboard structural members which can be fabricated separately for a display and which, in any event, can be folded flat for shipment and which will be easily erected and will be stable in their position of use, notwithstanding that they have been folded.

This is accomplished by blanking the structural member from cardboard or the like which is creased or scored to be folded, to provide a supporting post, one member is folded longitudinally to form a quadrangular crosssection such as to preclude transverse folding, the material also being transversely creased or scored in a manner to permit transverse folding only when the material is flat. In other words, the longitudinal fold is incompatible with the folding of the material on its transverse fold.

Thus, if the longitudinal fold is maintained as a quadrangular cross section in the structural member by means which preclude its parts from flattening out, the structural member will also be held in such a way as to preclude transverse folding.

In the various embodiments disclosed in the prior art, the structural member is angular or triangular or square in a cross section when erected, but folds into fiat form when collapsed to permit of folding on the transverse score line. In the disclosed embodiments the sign or flat area is folded at the top and at the bottom to form two spaced right angular bracing ledges, at the center of each ledge a quadrangular opening is formed to permit passing the supporting post therethrough. The two openings thus retaining the quadrangular post in its folded or closed relationship and the post supporting the sign or flat display area in an erected position. The post may be supported by crossed or notched cardboard feet or may be supported by cementing or sticking the post to either a box of produce or merchandise that is to be advertised.

It is an object of this invention to provide a plurality of flat cardboard elements that may be folded and shipped in a flat form within a box or as a condensed flat package and in which said cardboard elements may be reformed and assembled into a self supporting advertising display sign.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical cardboard shipping carton.

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FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fiat cardboard element scored for folding.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of said cardboard element folded to form a quadrangular post.

FIG. 4 is a flat display sign with scored top and bottom for folding.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are flat cardboard feet that may be joined in a supporting interlocked relationship.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the front of the assembled sign with a base of cardboard feet, and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the back of the assembled sign with a base support provided by a complete carton.

Various means may be used for supporting the upright posts.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a carton 10 that is normally used in shipping produce or merchandise, etc. These cartons are of cardboard, preferably corrugated cardboard, and a cardboard carton of this type is often simply opened with the contents showing in a store for display and a sign is usually necessary to describe the contents and price and other matters or advertising as the case may be. The complete sign 11 may be folded and inserted within carton 10 as illustrated by dotted lines, or the complete sign 11 may be folded flat and mailed separately if desired. The sign 11 is comprised of a plurality of structural elements. All elements must be foldable to lie in a perfectly flat relationship. The elements required for this particular sign are a flat display element 12, a supporting post 14, and a supporting base 15.

In FIG. 2 there is illustrated the supporting post 14 in an unfolded flat position. The sheet of cardboard comprising post 14 is scored as indicated by the lines A, B, C, and D. With the cardboard material scored in this manner, it is easily folded into a quadrangular form as illustrated in FIG. 3. This forms a supporting post and in the quadrangular form it cannot be folded transversely, whereas in the flat form it is foldable transversely on the scored line B.

Referring to FIG. 4 there is illustrated the display area 12 of the sign 11. The display element 12 is also scored by lines F, G, H and I. Element 12 is also formed with an extended lip 17 on its upper end (FIGS. 7 and 8) and an extended ledge 18 on its lower end (FIGS. 7 and 8). In addition, element 12 is provided with a quadrangular shaped aperture 19 in ledge 18 which would be centered, while lip 17 is provided with a quadrangular aperture 20 in its center above, however, aperture 20 is provided with an additional lip or tongue 21 on one side thereof. Element 12 is bent and formed as illustrated in FIG. 8 so that the ledge 18 and the lip 17 form right angular surfaces with relation to the flat display area 22 of element 12. The outer end of lip 17 is bent backward in an angular relationship to abut with the under surface of 22 thereof and is provided with two quadrangular apertures 19 and 20 in an aligned relation to permit assembling the supporting post 14 with the display element 12. Post 14 in its folded position retained in a tight position is passed through aperture 19 and through aperture 20 until the upper end of post 14 abuts with the underside of the surface 17 thus apertures 19 and 20 retain the quadrangular element 12 in its folded relationship and the post 14 in turn supports the display element 12 in its upright position as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. To retain the post in its upright position, a supporting base is required. One embodiment of a supporting base is comprised of two fiat cardboard elements 30 and 31. Element 30 is scored at its center I to permit folding. Element 30 is provided with four slots 32, 33, 34 and 35 cut into the element from its upper surface a predetermined distance. The space of slots 32 and 33 from the center I center I. It is also to be noted that the space between slots 32 and 33 is predetermined to provide a tongue 36 that will fit into the quadrangular post 14 to provide a stiffening support when element 30 is folded as illustrated in FIG. 7. To retain element 30 in this position and to add support to the base, element 31 is also provided with slots 37 and 38 from the upper surface and with slots 39 and 40 from the lower surface. Slots 37 and 39 being in alignment while slots 38 and 40 are also in alignment thus providing a lip 41 facing upward and a lip 42 facing downward. Lip 41 is of a dimension to also fit within the larger dimension of the cross section of post 14. In combining elements 30 and 31, element 30 is pushed downward so that slots 39 and 40 will combine or fit into slots 32 and 35 of element 30, while the post 14 fits over tongues 33 and 36 of element 30 and over tongue 41 of element 31 as illustrated in FIG. 7. In this inserted relationship, post 14 is rigidly supported by the base 15. This retains the display element 12 as il ustrated in FIG. 7.

In a further embodiment, post 14 may be provided With a plurality of adhesive pads 50 on its exterior surface 51 to support the sign in an upright position as illustrated in FIG. 8. The original carton shown in FIG. 1 may be utilized, that is, as carton 10 is filled with produce or merchandise, post 14 is pressed against one surface of carton 10 so that the adhesive pads 50 will adhere to the surface of carton 10 thus retaining the sign as shown in FIG. 8.

It is to be noted that the supporting post 14 may serve two functions, one as the supporting post for the sign and two as the enclosing carton or cover shown as a complete flat sign unit 11 with elements 22, 30 and 31 enclosed. Thus the complete sign 11 may be shipped in a knocked down folded relationship ready to be assembled into an erected relationship as shown in FIG. 7.

Although carton 10 shows a particular size and shape and use, cartons of different sizes may be utilized as long as the sign elements may be retained within the carton as illustrated in FIG. 1 and although the sign may be shipped within a carton for display, the sign may also be shipped separately as a perfectly flat element 11 as shown mounted in the carton 10. The sign is illustrated with particular configuration and the supporting posts have been illustrated with a particular configuration, however, although the post is quadrangular in form, it may be slightly varied but should be maintained as a quadrangular element and although the display element 12 is shown with a particular configuration, the display area may be rectangular or round as long as the foldable top and bottom ledges are provided to produce the erected form shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and although a preferred form of base has been illustrated, other base supporting means such as that shown in FIG. 8 may be utilized without departing from the spirit of this invention and'this invention shallbe limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a display panel of a supporting postand a base comprisinga collapsible lightweight structural member which is an elongated strip of corrugated paper board having a longitudinal fold line at its center and faces at opposite sides of said fold line which are hingedly moveable upon said fold line with respect to each other between folded positions of substantial parallelism and erected position and in which said faces are subdivided by aligned transverse fold lines upon which they are foldable in their unfolded position of parallelism to form a quadrangular post which is not foldablelongitudinally when erected and said display panel scored with horizontal fold lines at its upper and lower edges to provide hingedly foldable ledges, each of said ledges perforated with a quadrangular aperture equal to and shaped to the periphery of said post, said post inserted through said apertures to be retained in an erected supporting position, said base comprised of two flat cardboard elements that are slotted and interlocked to stand in a vertical spaced relationship and in which said base provides an upright supporting tongue and lip for insertion within said post for retention in a vertical position. 2. In a device according to claim 1 in which one flat cardboard element is slotted on its lower edge to permit interlocking with the second cardboard element and is also slotted on its upper edge to provide a supporting lip and said second fiat cardboard element is scored at its center and foldable to provide two vertical supports in angular relationship to each other and in which said second flat cardboard element is slotted to permit interlocking with said first cardboard element and to provide extended tongues for insertion within said post.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,099,192 11/1937 Brant. 2,172,583 9/1939 Humphrey. 2,345,913 4/1944 Bishop. 2,456,964 12/1948 Ledure 248--174X 2,882,629 4/1959 Moebius 40-1241, 2,913,209 11/1959 Arnold. 3,350,804 11/1967 Guyeretal "40-1241 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner RICHARD CARTER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 40124.1, 

